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Matthew Stafford has spent his entire NFL career trying to rebuild the Detroit Lions franchise – it needed to be improved and he just found one. In a successful trade, the Lions sent Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for the Rams’ first-round picks in 2022 and 2023, a third-round pick in 2021, and quarterback Jared Goff, insider of CBS Sports NFL Jason La Canfora confirmed. Stafford moves on from a Lions team he struggled with making the playoffs with a Rams team led by coach Sean McVay who made at least the Divisional Round and once the Super Bowl in two of the last three seasons.
Stafford and the Lions had mutually agreed to go their separate ways earlier in the week, with the team moving into a new direction under the leadership of new general manager Brad Holmes (who until earlier this offseason was the Rams’ university scouting director. ) and head coach Dan Campbell. Stafford is heading for a ready-made Rams contender who had one of the best defenses in the NFL for several seasons and who had already been one of the most explosive offenses in the league before the decline of Goff over the past two years.
Stafford will get to work in an offensive system that has been friendly with quarterbacks, behind an offensive line that excels in pass protection, and with quality pass scavengers in Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Tyler Higbee, Gerald Everett and Van Jefferson. Goff, meanwhile, will be heading to a rebuilding Lions squad, and he may not be in Detroit for long, given his contractual situation.
The Rams signed Goff to a four-year, $ 130 million contract extension after his third season in the NFL, and will take a major dead money on their books after making the deal. Goff will have $ 22.2 million on the LA books in 2021 while playing for Detroit, while the Rams will inherit the two years and $ 43 million remaining on Stafford’s contract. An additional note to add on Stafford’s contract with the Rams came from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Stafford is not expected to require a contract extension as part of this deal. He will play the remaining two years for $ 34 million on his contract with the Rams.
Likewise, Stafford will have $ 17.8 million on the Lions’ books in 2021, and Detroit will inherit the remaining four years and $ 106.6 million on the Goff deal. Most importantly, there is no longer any guaranteed money on Goff’s contract, so the Lions can leave him after this season if they choose.
The Rams, after negotiating for Stafford, will go seven straight seasons without making a first-round pick. They traded their 2016 and 2017 firsts to move to Goff in the 2016 draft. They traded their 2018 debut for wide receiver Brandin Cooks, their 2019 first round at the Falcons for second and third round picks, and their firsts. 2020 and 2021 tours at the Jaguars for Jalen Ramsey. So Stafford is better worth the price, as the Rams continued to mortgage their future for short-term success.
Stafford – who spent a decade in Detroit and is leaving the Lions’ all-time leader for completed passes (3898) passing yards (45109), passing touchdowns (282) and quarterback wins (74) – took the franchise to three series appearances in its tenure, but the team failed to win a playoff game, going 0-3. The Rams will count on him to be much more successful in Los Angeles than in Detroit. They have the roster to set him up for that success, having made the playoffs in three of four seasons under Sean McVay and qualifying for the Super Bowl in 2018 before ultimately falling to the New England Patriots.
Goff’s struggles over the past two seasons have led the team to take a step back, miss the playoffs in 2019, and then be knocked out in the first round in 2020. This regression sparked interest in finding a way to move on and get over from Goff. what they accomplished with this trade.
For Goff, it’s an informal end to his tenure with the Rams. He struggled a lot in 2019 and parts of 2020 and was not named a starter for the team’s wild card game despite feeling he was healthy enough to play just weeks afterward. having broken his thumb. Goff eventually entered the game due to an injury to starter John Wolford and led the team to a win over divisional rival Seahawks, but was unable to call him with another over the Packers from Green Bay the following week.
Now, just two seasons after taking his team to the Super Bowl, he has been traded and has seen his team pay a hefty premium to put someone else in the center. He will have a chance to recover in Detroit under Campbell and new offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, but with the team clearly entering the early stages of a rebuild and their expensive contract, he will need to take a big step forward. eager to carve out a place for themselves in the team’s long term plans. Otherwise, it could end up on the open market after next season.
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